The Will of the People vs. Elected Officials, or

...The Return of the Parking Fairies?

Anchorage police officers could be taken out of the business of writing parking tickets downtown if a proposal that went before the Anchorage Assembly last week passes the Assembly and is approved by voters.

Backers of the proposal, which would apply to a limited section of downtown, contend it would give police more time to commit to more serious issues of law enforcement. But foes worry about what they see as the potential for a return to overly aggressive parking enforcement.

Sworn officers have been the only ones authorized to write parking tickets in Anchorage since voters mandated it in 1997 [emphasis added] after a vigorous debate that focused, in part, on whether officers' time was well spent enforcing parking. Only a voter-approved amendment to the city charter would once again allow meter readers to take over ticket writing downtown.

~ snip ~

The parking authority two decades ago was described by some as draconian for its strict ticket-writing all across town for everything from expired meters to expired registration. The authority's size and influence grew and angered residents, including two women who helped set in motion the citizen activism that led to the parking authority's downfall.

The Pacillo sisters -- who became known as the Anchorage parking fairies because of their fondness for pink tutus and wings -- held contests for the best stories about heavy-handed parking enforcement and paid parking tickets for the winners. They also roamed downtown putting coins in meters. (Read the rest at the link.)

The people already settled this. So you're going to put the same bureaucracy that abused it before, back in charge of the same program they proved they couldn't handle, before.

But THIS time the Assembly knows better.

This time, they assure us, there won't be such a heavy-handed approach by civilian bureaucrats, drunk with a little power.

 

This time, they assure us, it will be different.

 

Yeah, right. 

This time, we can assure them that the voters are likely to get more upset than before. The sleepy masses have awakened. And because getting elected to office doesn't make you wiser than you were before, but apparently it makes you think you are.

Not that this is a commentary on politics in general, at all levels. Of course not.

Don't Forget to Mark Your Calendar

 

h/t Dana

 

Brown won - that's great, but

We're not done yet. It was wonderful to watch the results coming in, and watching the left-stream talking heads implode in shock and disbelief.

Now take a deep breath, and it's on to the next battle. November is a long way away, and we face an implacable and ruthless opponent which will not stop until we are all disarmed, taxed into poverty, and totally dependent upon Big Brother. We fight for the very existence of the Constitutional Republic, and it's a close thing.

What was it Galadriel said? "Your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company (patriots?) is true."

We must continue to pray, and then to write/call/wire/e-mail/speak to our elected servants in D.C., and remind them who they are.

Town Hall Meetings & Voter Frustration

At one of the increasingly rambunctious "town hall" meetings, yesterday, a lady said words to the effect of "You have to let us complain, otherwise there will be a revolution."

Given the prevailing sentiment at many of these meetings, it's obvious that the conservatives (of both parties, and of neither party) are fed up, and growing more frustrated by the hour. It's also apparent that many (most?) of the elected officials are contemptuous of the voters.

(Everyone knows, of course, that being elected to office instantly makes one superior in every way. Not. Gag me with a Smurf.)

Looking at the raw footage made available on-line, the people are very close to the breaking point. The protests grow more angry, and pockets of violence have begun to crop up.

The self-styled patricians of D.C. ignore this at their peril.

I've been casually speaking about the issues of the day and the town hall meetings with various people over the last several days. Every single one of them, without exception, wants Alaska to secede. All but one of them mentioned it without any prompting from me. I mentioned the word to the other one, and received an earful about how "fed up" she is with the "unconstitutional and criminal behavior of the U.S. Congress."

I haven't heard any of the elected folk say anything at all about it. That silence alone is telling.

The next few months are going to be very, very interesting.

* Author's note: None of this is to encourage the concept of secession. I simply find it fascinating that so many Alaskans are talking about it. P.